Italy Travel Guide Featured Parma Hotels Emilia-Romagna - Northern Italy I Love Touring Italy - The Emilia Subregion I Love Touring Italy - The Romagna Subregion Featured Emilia-Romagna Self-Catering Accommodation Modena Hotels Bologna Hotels

Poggio di Castelletto (Ref: 28942), Self catering country house in Piacenza, Italy  BEST BUY The old farmhouse is detached and hidden away at the end of the village, near a mantle of green woods and a soft flowing stream.Fully renovated, its thick stone walls keep you cool in the hot Italian summer and warm in the cold winters. There is a large garden, plus furniture, BBQ grill, and the old forno where you can bake fresh bread-pizza etc. Inside, the house offers all the main facilities.  Emilia is ideally situated for touring Northern Italy.  The old roman Via Emilia links cities like Piacenza, Parma, Reggio, Modena, Bologna...  Sleeps 6.

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Emilia-Romagna - Northern Italy   by Clyde Dennis Parma Hotels  /  Emilia-Romagna Self-Catering For someone seeking a European vacation destination they would do well to consider the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is an area of Italy named for a road that was constructed by the Ancient Romans almost 2200 years ago. It like a lot of Italy is known throughout the world for its history, its many tourist attractions, local food, and local wine.

A great place to start a tour of the region is Piacenza. A city founded on the Po River by the Etruscans and later went on to become the first Roman military colony. The Piazza dei Cavalli (Square of the Horses) in the city center contains baroque statues of two historic leaders.

Close nearby is a Thirteenth Century Palace, Palazzo del Comune, which was once the site of the city's government. The Duomo's (Cathedral) bell tower contains a cage in which troublemakers were imprisoned stark naked and taunted by the crowd below. If you're one who prefers the arts, you'll enjoy the bounty of beautiful art and sculptures found throughout the city's various historical buildings. For instance The Museo Civico (City Museum) contains Etruscan artifacts and a famous Boticelli painting. Art lovers will certainly want to visit the Galleria d'Arte Moderna Ricci Oddi for its collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Italian art.

If your tastes are more Opera oriented you will not want to miss the town Busseto, famous for Guiseppe Verdi, who was actually born in the nearby village of Roncole now renamed Roncole Verdi. Busseto contains the 15th Century Villa Pallavicino where he lived and worked and the Nineteenth Century Teatro Verdi that performs many of his magnificent works.

Another city that is always of great interest among vacationers is the city of Parma. A historic city that has changed hands frequently over the centuries and to this day still maintains a large French influence. Historically Parma is the place from which culinary delights such as Parmesan cheese and Parma ham first originated.

At the center of Parma is Piazza Garibaldi (Garibaldi Square). Among the many sights you'll want to see are the Sixteenth Century church Santa Maria della Steccata and its frescos, the Twelfth Century Duomo (Cathedral) and nearby Battistero (Baptisry), and several other history laden churches and museums. Parma is also known for its opera at the Teatro Regio. Neighboring city Modena is the home to the opera singer Luciano Pavarotti.

No trip into any region of Italy would be complete without considering it wine. Emilia-Romagna ranks 5th among the 20 Italian regions for acreage devoted to wine grapes and 4th for total annual wine production. The region produces about 57% red and 43% white wine. Frankly though, Emilia-Romagna is a region in which the wine is not considered to be as good as the food.

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By Levi Reiss